Reviews by DeFaz:

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2009 vintage, nearly four years old. Thanks, Kevin. Matilda pours a foggy copper outlined with some lighter brushings of amber at the edges. Though at first glance it may appear completely opaque, it has the lightest bit of translucency as I can see a faint silhouette of my hand on the other side of the glass. No head - just white, wispy collar. Not a huge surprise given the age of the brew.

The aroma is quite a bit different than I was expecting, but nearly better in every way. Heavy notes of dru, musky funk and an undeniable barrel-presence that oversees the whole process. Damp cellar, dirty cobwebs, and barnyard floor all come to mind when sniffing this funky brew. It's not without it's tart offset, though - generous helpings of lightly acetic vinegar, harsh apple skins, and lemon juice add a touch of tartness and combat the funk for center stage.

I'm already pretty impressed with the aroma, and the first sip keeps things rolling. A substantially dry and cheesecloth-y funk is the first flavor to run out of the gate, but it's quickly followed up with abrupt apple skins that play the fine-line between tart and astringent just a bit. Lemon, vinegar, and heavy tannins play hard mid-palate and add nice complexity to this Belgian style brew.

Matilda is pretty damn spritzy and effervescent on the palate, biting the tongue on all sides and really projecting the flavors forward with each and every sip. The nice tart spikes that sift through the mostly-funky static are really enjoyable, especially considering that I wasn't expecting much of anything from this beer. The finish is full of more tannin and dry oak, making the barrel-aging known and clearing your palate for each successive sip.

Very nice brew. I haven't had one fresh, so I don't know what four years has done to this brew, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. Quite a nice mixture of funkiness and tartness, never leaning too heavily towards one side, though the funk may have the lead by just a nose. If you've had this fresh and didn't like it, I recommend sitting on it for a while.

Just realized that somehow I never reviewed this one. An excellent example of the style. I like this one with at least a year on it to really bring our the Brett flavor. I call this the poor man's orval

Out of the 750ml and into the Maredsous chalice like a king at supper.

Quite nice. Not nice like seeing a Victoria's Secret receipt on your girls kitchen table "nice," but nice enough. The appearance shines bright like an apricot tree while on acid, yet that's more or less the highlight of the experience. Like your last ex, flavors are there, and they're not, and the mouthfeel is a bit watery.

Appearance: Golden honey in a glass. Finger to finger and a half of head that left no lacing and after 15-20 minutes dissipated almost completely but looked pretty while it lasted. Gained more of an unfiltered pale ale nectar like appearance after I poured the dregs.

Aroma: Plenty of clove and sweetness immediately on the nose. Smells more hoppy than your typical Belgian style but offered nice sense of balance between malts hops and yeast.

Taste: Really clean and Belgian like similar to a hoppier tripel. The hops made more of a presence before the dregs were poured but were replaced by spice aromas afterwards.

Overall: After the dregs were poured in I feel the spiciness and depth of body was thrown off but still good in my opinion however next time I will probably drink without the dregs. I am a fan of this beer and brewery and will be getting this beer again.

765 mL bottle picked up at the LCBO; bottled June 27 2014. A friend shared a bottle of this with me in May 2013 (originally submitted as a 'had'), but I neglected to post a review at the time. I enjoyed it enough to consider it worth revisiting. Served at cellar temperature.

This one foamed up a bit when I popped the cap, but in more of an 'oozing lava flow' manner than an 'angry geyser' one. Once it settled down and I got the pour off, I was presented with a hazy golden-orange coloured brew, with visible floaties slowly hovering through the liquid. The white head is dense; about a half-inch thick and quite creamy-looking, though not very long-lasted at all. After only a few minutes, it has wilted into a filmy cap and thin collar, with some spindly lace strands left clinging to the glass. Not the most visually-appealing BSPA I've ever looked at, but the aroma gets things back on track - some musty, funky acetic tartness is the most noticeable facet, but this is merely the loudest voice in a chorus. Notes of lemon, wet hay, apple skin, apricot, bubblegum and floral hops combine to produce a seriously enticing bouquet.

The flavour profile is similarly complex, with a nice blend of orchard fruit notes - including red apple, orange, pear and apricot - starting things off smoothly. Candi sugar, bubblegum and a vague hint of banana are next in line, alongside some grainy, doughy malt goodness. The latter half of the profile is dominated by funky, tart acetic notes, with grassy hay and accents of lemon citrus peel, clove and yeast. Finishes relatively dry, with a slight tinge of ethanol - not exactly noticeable enough to be outright warming, but detectable nonetheless. Medium-full in body, with weak carbonation levels for the style - this is not a feature I recall from my last sampling - possibly a characteristic of this year's batch, or maybe just a storage/handling issue. Regardless, the beer itself tastes fine.

Final Grade: 4.07, an A-. Goose Island's Matilda is an interesting strong Belgian pale ale, but in my opinion it doesn't compare with the real titans of this style - and having had two bottles of this from different vintages, I feel pretty comfortable stating that. The Brettanomyces provides a unique background tartness, and overall I must say that I do really enjoy this beer - but it's still no Duvel or Don de Dieu. Pretty good stuff; there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be drinking this again at some point.

Another great beer in the line of Goose Island's Big Beers. Good aromas of Belgian candy and barley malts. Transfers to flavors along with over ripe fruits: oranges, plumbs, and berries. Has some slight hop bitterness and flavor. Spicy coriander, cloves, pepper, and allspice. Some organic, sour, or earthy flavors ride underneath other flavors, these resemble Trappist Orval. Its a good beer, but the flavors need a while to come together.

Got some ones in USA and Mexico. Difficult to find in the South.
Looks nice, copper/bronze red colour.
Fruitful smell, Belgian yeast.
Taste sweet and sour, nice body, one of the best from Goose available far away from Chicago.

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Just picked it up from the grocery store, so no refrigeration.

Appearance: Golden with a bit of haze and a nice, steady stream of bubbles. Poured with about a finger-width of foam at the top. Foam does a nice job of lingering, but not obnoxiously so.

Smell: Definitely... different. Get the bananas, cloves... I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Is this the "funk" that others are talking about? Interesting and complex, to say the least.

Taste: VERY complex. Yeasty, sweat, and with a hint of hops all in one sip. I keep having to drink this thing down just to be able to try and figure out all the different flavor notes. I may empty my glass just trying to figure this one out. This is REALLY REALLY delicious - that much I can say.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, and pretty clean. Lingers slightly, but it's not a bad linger by any stretch. Makes me want to drink more of it. Definitely not a bad thing.

Overall: I might down the entire 4 pack I bought tonight. This is disappearing from my glass at a surprising pace. Keeper! It'll be hard to cellar if I buy it because I'll just want to keep drinking it.

A: A deep golden beer with excellent clarity. Pours with a finger of fine to rocky, off-white faom that leave fine lacing on the glass.

S: Lots of floral hops and orange aroma with a some black pepper. There is a moderate amount of bubble gum, barn yard brett aroma in there.

T: Fruity and spicy with a touch of honey-like malt sweetness. There is a moderately-low hops bitterness. Some brett funk. Oranges, peaches and black pepper. The balance is a slightly sweet and the finish is medium.

M: Medium bodied with a strong level of carbonation.

O: Exceptional, everything I want in a Belgian Strong like fruit and black pepper without being all that sweet with a satisfying brett character.

T/M: body is light, a bit prickly. over carbonated due to its age, needs to be worked out with agitation and air. softens up with time. very bready and yeasty, almost overly so. lightly fruity, funky, hints of wasabi and soy, starch and salt. a bit spicey but not as present as in the nose. finishes dry and slightly astringent.

D: decent. doesnt offend by any means but doesnt really beg for much more.

overall a nice beer. seems like a solid foundation for a few tweaks and the eventual production of a really nice beer. i wonder how much the age in the bottle has effected it but as i find it, this beer is lacking a complexity, and artistry readily available in other belgian examples.